The thing about cars that were considered very ugly when new is that they often tend to mellow with age, like the perpetually-maligned Pontiac Aztek; it doesn’t really look so bad anymore. It was just a bit too far ahead of its time, and had a few unfortunate details, like its beak. But it hardly stands out anymore, and has actually become hip, especially since Breaking Bad. But the Vehicross? After some fifteen years is it looking a bit less out there?

The Vehicross is one of those rare concept vehicles that actually got built with very few changes. How odd is that? Well, maybe a bit too odd. Were all used to seeing the fantasies of designers at car shows, but if a concept really does make it to production, it’s usually pretty heavily watered down. It was shown at the 1993 Tokyo Motor Show.

It’s the kind of concept that was pretty common at the time, a futuristic update on the the Jeep, essentially, with its 2+2 seating, high ground clearance, and very short overhangs. How many futuristic CJ concepts did Jeep show us over the decades. Well, it turns out Jeep buyers are a pretty conservative bunch, and like their changes very incrementally.

AGuyinVancouver posted this one at the Cohort. It’s hard to say which angle when looking at the Vehicross is the worst, but its rear end is clearly a contender. But this spare tire cover looks more like some very strange butt cancer.

The front looks almost good in comparison. The best side is the underside, though, which featured a shortened frame and running gear from the Trooper, including its V6 engine. Its on-road AWD system was computer-controlled (“TOD”) with 12 sensore to determine which wheel had the best grip; pretty standard stuff nowadays. And its off-street creds were considerable, with locking-differential and low-ratio ratio making the most of its considerable ground clearance and very good approach angles.

Some 5,958 were ever built, of which 4,153 were sold in the US between 1999 and 2001. Will they become collectible classics someday?

The 1968-1972 117 coupes will no doubt be the most collectable Isuzus of all time. Notable distinctions include being largely hand-built, exterior design by Giugiaro, and the first Japanese car ever with electronic fuel injection (1970-on).

Ultra-modern when new; could pass as a fresh design today. That said, it was held back by a very dated looking interior with awful two-toning and strange door panels. If the interior was on the same level as the exterior (like what the Axiom received), I think they would have sold many more than they did.

There is a guy locally (West Linn, Oregon)who drives a modified Vehicross, it is lifted and painted with flames. Doesn’t sound good on paper but with the crazy bodywork, it actually looks pretty cool. Definitely eye-catching!

I like the design. They failed because they were really expensive, not particularly useful, and somewhat uncomfortable to drive. There’s a guy in my neighborhood with two of them and a friend that visits in another. Not sure why I’ve never photographed them.

I remember I had a matchbox or hot wheels one of these when I was little. I didn’t even know they were real production cars until I saw one on the road some years later. I’ve probably seen less than 10 in my life.

They really don’t look that bad today. Just all that black cladding makes it look like its floating on air.

When it came out, I thought the Rav-4 was one of the most jarringly, butt-ugly nadirs of the automotive industry, and indeed, I still dislike the first generation. But then this thing? Oh, the inhumanity! This is truly an aesthetic low. Nevermind the hideous Aztek with that ridiculous tent sticking out of the back! I once saw a Vehicross in yellow, and it was truly the most obnoxious vehicle I have ever laid eyes on. It hasn’t mellowed with age as much as it has become dated. Both this car and the 1rst generation Rav-4s look extremely dated now; obtuse, aesthetically offensive, malproportioned designs that I sure won’t miss!

I love these, definitely one of a kind design. Last one I saw was in LA a few years ago. As far as I know, they were not sold in Canada, but perhaps can be imported used. They came in some crazy bright colours too.

After admitting I liked yesterday’s TR7, it should come as no surprise that I’ve always like these, too. With the original wheels/tires instead of these silly big ones. I remember seeing a silver one in the showroom, and have liked them ever since.

CC effect – drove past a faded red one of these doing the school run this morning. Still ugly, but not offensively so, and a lot more interesting to look at than the endless RAV-4s, Outlanders etc that swarm around here.

I have always liked these, I understand they are not everyone cup of tea, but I could never understand the hate. They always reminded me of the movie Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone for some reason.

Much better than the Juke, I would say. This looks like it was penned by an actual stylist and it can back up its aggressive look offroad. The Juke is a bug-eyed blob of cheese with no redeeming design, truck, or car qualities.

Incidentally, “Juke” means cockroach in Hebrew. They do sell them in Israel under the original name and people (usually cougars/would be MILFs who think they’re cool) DO buy them. Someone must have a sense of humor.

The Subaru Tribeca was ugly, too. So what did Subaru do? They cribbed the front end off the Chrysler Town and Country minivan. Now it’s anonymous, but that doesn’t matter any more since Subaru has decided to kill it off.

I heard these are incredibly hard to see out of. The Isuzu part for me is a turn off. The Toyota FJ gives me the same off-road imagery and is just as far out in the looks department but the Toyota brand and heritage angle make it the real deal rather than just an interesting design exercise. The added utility from the 4-doors helps too. Not sure about the Vehicross but the FJ is already a classic.

Agreed – the irony with both these vehicles is that they’re functionally the best off -readers from their respective manufacturers, but saddled with inefficient space utilization and poor visibility. The FJ not quite as bad but could have been so much better; the VehiCross just an odd choice of design parameters, especially as the Amigo was technically so similar, but not offered with the more advanced 4wd system.

I’ve always kinda liked them. The lower body plastic tends to fade to a dreary gray, though. The featured example looks like the plastic has been Armor-Alled or otherwise treated to within an inch of its life to maintain the blackness.

I truly WANTED to like these when they came out. 2 door SUVs were always the sporty ones of the bunch so an ULTRA sporty one should be even cooler, right? Well….this was a lot more spendy than the contemporary Amigo/Rodeo Sport yet didn’t offer a removeable roof, had that fugly spare tire ‘ass tumor’, and cost a lot more to boot. The idea was there, for sure. It tried hard to meld some sports car with the offroaders that Isuzu was known for…yet something is lost in the translation. Admittedly, I like a more chiseled, hard edged look to my 4x4s. The Wrangler has always looked just like a MACHINE. Its all steel, and gnarly tires, rollcage. The cloth top is the only departure. This on the other hand looks more organic. Like some kind of space alien fetus or something. It comes off looking a lot like one of those cheap-O radio control cars you can get at bottom feeder department stores. The ones that are no name brands, the body styles are poorly conceived non existent vehicles since the maker wont pony up to license the design from a real automaker.

I saw one of these other day, actually — I forget where, but parked someplace in the area. Things looking a little dusty and weathered tend to normalize them, however over the top they originally look.

I say yes because other SUVs have moved closer to its look and away from upright box shapes. It still looks like it should be driving on the moon though especially in silver. Still a respectable move to put a concept into production, still fairly limited appeal.

Another guilty admission – I love these things, and would absolutely own one. When my Mom was picking up her new Mustang GT in the winter of 2000, the dealer had one in the showroom and ever since then I’ve really wanted one.

Downside is the interior room, which is right on par with a Mustang – aka not much. That said, though, they sure do look cool!

I’ve always liked these. No, they don’t work from every angle, but overall I always thought the space-alien-meets-offroader theme turned out surprisingly well. They do work much better with any other wheel design than this doubled-three spoke oddity though.

A co-worker had one; he got it used sometime around 2003 to replace a mid 90’s Trooper. He had just graduated college, and the Vehicross was basically his dream car, so he was quite happy with it. For all I know he might still have the thing. I *think* his was black? The black ones did make the cladding less noticeable.

One of the more amusing lines I read about this car when it came out was “what you’d get if an SUV was styled by Nike.”

These probably hold the record for the longest time on the lot for any new vehicles, a friend of mine worked at a Lincoln-Mercury, Hyunday, Mitsubishi, Isuzu dealer when these were new, the had a 1999 on the lot for about a year,then they got their 2000, then they got one of those crazy yellow ones, then they got a 2001, mind you the 1999 one was still on the lot gathering dust and cobwebs. I think when they finally dropped their pants, grabbed their ankles and found a sucker……er buyer for the oldest VehiCross rotting on the lot, it had been in inventory for something like 700 plus days, they threw a party.

They were way too expensive, combined with being way too ugly, 2 door SUV’s as a whole were already starting to die out, and then you combine it with a fading Japanese brand, bam, virtually sale proof. I think they cut a couple of birthday cakes for the VehiCrosses they had on the lot.

At the hospital I used to work at, someone wanted to decorate a staff restroom with a futuristic car theme. This was in the 90’s and one of the concept cars displayed was the Isuzu that became the Vehicross. That restroom stayed the same until at least 2005 when I left, maybe it’s still there. I thought it was funny that one of the “futuristic” cars went into production and quickly out of production and that restroom still had it as a future car for years after. I wonder how many hospital staff realized that.

Count me in with the styling hasn’t mellowed so much as recent CUV styling has become as stupid looking and contrived as it camp. At least it has two doors and can off road worth a damn though, so it is better than a current CUV.

I’ll come out and say that I definitely liked the Isuzu Vehicross when it was new, and I still do. I’d suggest that it may look better in some colors than others. Oh, and I liked the almost customized interior and still do. Being a low volume vehicle they seemed a little pricey at the time. They were and are a vehicle to drive when you don’t want to drive something just like everybody else is driving.

Your nobody if “they” aren’t talking about you. And the public always gets it wrong. Those that move the market are buying up near mint ironman edition with let’s say 3,700 miles like mine has. 18 years old and still in the 3,000 mile range. The big shots will announce when collectible and dollar value? We love to hear the public say …. I should of bought one? Well … you can for higher pricing soon to come.
The vehicross is just incredible. Buy low, sell high. And with that.. goodnight Irene cause that’s all she wrote.